So far, the department collected more than $55,000 in late taxes. Currently, it is preparing to auction off assets from Pinnacle Race Course and Simply Dave’s.

The township placed orange stickers, dated April 1 and signed by Spangler, on the clubhouse doors at Pinnacle, 18000 Vining Road, for nonpayment of taxes. The Thoroughbred track, owned by Post-It Stables of Jackson, did not reopen for the 2011 season and stopped simulcasting races Nov. 3, 2010.

As of May, Pinnacle owed just under $265,000 to the township for personal property taxes, water bills and state “breakage fees” and just over $1.5 million to Wayne County for real property taxes.

Obviously, there is not a lot of detail there about what would be auctioned off, when it would happen or how likely it is to actually happen. Any speculation on what the auction might entail is just that – speculation – given the half-sentence of information we have. However, if those “assets” include the things necessary to put on the show, like the stripping down of Great Lakes Downs in 2009, that would be a hard setback to overcome on the road to opening the doors once again.

- The Southgate News Herald reports the previously indicated sale of a parcel of land by Pinnacle Race Course to a Native American tribe has, in fact, happened. The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians purchased a piece of the property along Vining Road for as-yet-unnamed purposes. The story also notes that two additional parcels of land are up for sale along Sibley Road. The sale price is reported to be $179,000 for a parcel of land between five and 10 acres.

The move is being met with resistance from some members of local government, who worry about the land being pieced off at market price to cover the track’s debts after Pinnacle bought it at a discounted price. In the original sale agreement, Pinnacle was sold the land for $1 on the condition that the track would create 1,200 jobs. The story reports Wayne County Commissioner Edward Boike Jr. is conducting an investigation to see if the track has fulfilled its end of the bargain.

– From Andrea Ritter: Members of Michigan’s horse racing industry are hosting a golf outing to benefit the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund and the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. On Friday, Sept. 10, join Michigan owners, trainers, jockeys and fans at the Carleton Glen Golf Club in Carleton, Mich. for the Michigan Horse Racing Golf Out. The event will begin with shotgun golf at 1 p.m.. The cost is $75 per person and includes a cart, a hot dog, a beverage at the turn and a steak dinner. Hole sponsorships are available starting at $100 a hole. Aug. 21 is the deadline to register and pay.

For more information, call Andrea Ritter at (586) 596-5793, or email andreamritter@gmail.com or Josh Belvedere at (248) 990-4645, or email josh.belvedere@gmail.com.

– On a site maintenance note, I have added a new “Racetrack Visits” category on my sidebar. Now, if you would like to see my stories, reviews and photos of the tracks I have visited, they can all be found in one convenient location.